Anna Maria Alberghetti – Warm and Willing

Recorded in 1960, just before Anna Maria Alberghetti’s Tony‑winning breakthrough in Carnival!, Warm and Willing captures the young soprano at a pivotal moment — still celebrated as a classically trained prodigy, yet stepping confidently into a more intimate, jazz‑inflected popular style. Nelson Riddle, then at the height of his powers, shapes the album’s sound with the same lush, romantic sensibility he brought to his celebrated work with Rosemary Clooney. The result is a sophisticated, atmospheric set that flatters Alberghetti’s purity of tone while giving her room to explore a warmer, more contemporary palette.

The programme opens with the title track, Warm and Willing, before moving into the Italian favourite Anema e Core and a poised reading of In the Still of the Night. Alberghetti brings a graceful lightness to I’ve Got the World on a String and a gentle glow to Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. Riddle’s arrangements lend cinematic sweep to Porgy, Cuban Love Song and I Have Dreamed, while Non Dimenticar and Come Back to Sorrento nod to her European heritage.

Romantic standards such as I’m in the Mood for Love, How’s Your Romance and My One and Only Love highlight her lyrical phrasing, while selections like Aladdin, I Adore You, Caroling, Caroling, Star Carol and Ave Maria broaden the album’s emotional and seasonal colour. Throughout, Riddle’s orchestrations wrap her voice in velvet, coaxing a richness and expressive warmth that marked a new chapter in her recording career.

Altogether, Warm and Willing stands as a beautifully realised collaboration — a meeting of singer and arranger that blends classical poise with romantic sophistication, offering a vivid portrait of Anna Maria Alberghetti just as she was stepping into stardom.

Track Listing

1. Warm And Willing
2. Anema E Core
3. In The Still Of The Night
4. I’ve Got The World On A String
5. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
6. Porgy
7. Cuban Love Song
8. I Have Dreamed
9. Non Dimenticar
10. I’m In The Mood For Love
11. How’s Your Romance
12. Come Back To Sorrento
13. Darlin, Come Back To Me
14. My One And Only Love
15. Aladdin
16. I Adore You
17. Caroling, Caroling
18. Star Carol
19. Ave Maria